Technology

Realme X first impressions: Stunning design, camera at an affordable price

Realme X comes with a pop-up front camera, dual cameras at the back, Snapdragon 710 processor, Android Pie, and 3,765mAh battery. We spent less than a week with the Realme X and here is our first impressions.

Realme has launched its most expensive smartphone in India – Realme X, which comes with a pop-up selfie camera and 48MP primary camera at the back. The mid-premium phone is aimed at Xiaomi’s Redmi K20, which is set to make its debut in India soon.

Realme X was launched alongside the Realme 3i, which is a more budget option with stripped down specifications. Among other specifications of Realme X are Snapdragon 710 processor, Android Pie, and 3,765mAh battery. We spent less than a week with the Realme X and here is our first impressions:

Realme X first impressions: Design and display

Realme X has a light-weight design thanks to the polycarbonate back cover. But what really stands out on this phone is its shiny purple and blue colour gradient colour option, which we got for review. Gradient back design is quite common these days and whether you like this is really a personal choice. For me, the shine was a little too much.

The rest of the design is minimalistic with dual back camera sensors and LED flash placed bang in the center and Realme branding placed vertically below it. The 48MP primary camera sensor has a golden ring around it, which I feel is a nice addition and goes well with the overall design.

But what really stands out on this phone is its shiny purple and blue colour gradient colour option, which we got for review.

The back cover is curved on both sides and the phone is not very slippery, so grip was not an issue. Nevertheless, Realme has bundled a plastic case, which is good to see. The front is mostly display and less bezels, which makes for a large viewing space, which I enjoyed while watching videos.

The screen size is 6.53-inches with FHD+ resolution. I was mostly happy with the viewing angles and colour reproduction as the icons looked sharp. I was able to view the screen with ease under direct sunlight as well.

Realme X first impressions: Camera

Realme X has dual cameras at the back, a combination of 48MP and 5MP sensors. In my limited time with the phone, I found the camera to be excellent, which takes good pictures in bright outdoors. I liked the detailing and that the colour looked close to natural. We are yet to explore features such as Nightscape, Chromaboost, etc.

Realme X camera sample. (Image resized for web)

The front camera is 16MP with pop-up mechanism. The camera takes likeable pictures in places where there is ample light with great details. I was happy that there is less of software at play, which makes the skin look unnaturally smooth. I was impressed with the Portrait shots.

The only thing I worry about is the durability of the pop-up camera mechanism. Realme says the camera can last up to 10 years with 50 selfies being clicked daily, which is a big claim to make, but there’s no way to know for sure really.

Realme X first impressions: Processor, battery, and memory

Realme X does not disappoint when it comes to performance. I was able to open apps quickly and switch between tabs without any lag. I played basic games like Candy Crush, which the phone can handle with ease. So basic day-to-day tasks such as making calls, messaging, browsing social media, etc should not be a problem.

We got the 8GB RAM plus 128GB storage variant for review and there’s a 4GB RAM variant available as well. So, how does Realme X performs with heavy usage? Wait for our full review to find out.

The front camera is 16MP with pop-up mechanism.

With moderate usage such as watching videos, listening to songs, browsing social media, and clicking photos, the battery lasted for about a day. The battery capacity should have been bigger, I feel, for Realme X to be a complete package. There’s also VOOC 3.0 fast charge, said to charge the phone to 55 per cent in 30 minutes.

The in-display fingerprint scanner works well and unlocks the phone almost instantly, which is great. This is a dual SIM phone and there is no slot for expandable storage but I feel 128GB storage should be good enough for most users.